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The next time you hear a bump in the night, don't go back to sleep wondering what it was.

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Force Multiplier : A capability that, when added to and employed by a combat force, significantly increases the combat potential of that force and thus enhances the probability of successful mission accomplishment.

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A friend of mine told me about an incident he had at a rental house a few years back. He was out late walking his dogs for the last time before bed, and they were barking at some unseen threat in the distance. The friend could of course not see what it was, but he happened to have a very high powered flash light on him.

The light was powered up and deployed in the direction that the dogs had alerted towards. To my friend's surprise, he saw a man standing under the deck of a neighbor's house. It was not the neighbor either. As soon as the man was illuminated, he ran off into the woods. My friend did not hesitate to report the incident and went over to his neighbor's house to wake them up.

They were very appreciative but probably didn't sleep well that night or many nights into the future. No one had any idea why the man was there or who he was. If it were not for the dogs too, his presence would have gone unnoticed. Having at least one dog is a simple, cheap, and quality residential security force multiplier.

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Many other options exist, but they are not cheap. I'd recommend people get them as their budget allows.

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These days night vision and thermal devices are getting relatively inexpensive. The choices available are too plentiful for me to provide you with exact recommendations. I do not know your budget either. However, there are some basics to share that will help you decide.

Most of you are not going to put your device on a helmet, so consider a hand held or weapon mounted one instead. Private investigators prefer hand held units. They are cheaper than scopes, but they cannot be mounted on a weapon. I recommend getting a scope that can be hand held or mounted on a weapon.

Night vision devices use electronics to absorb low light and intensify it while thermal devices highlight differences in heat signatures. There's also a new device that combines the two into what is being called "Fusion." If you do not want to be detected easily by other people, make sure your device does not use any type of infrared lamp or beam.

A good write up on the differences between the devices can be found here.

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There are countless other options to consider as force multipliers, and I welcome discussing them below. Please add the ones you recommend!

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